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The introduction to ballroom makeup

While back, when I was still an active dancer and a competitor, I had a lot of problems how to apply my makeup, what to begin with, what is looking good and what is not, and how to distinguish which tips & tricks from everyday makeup could be applicable and which couldn't.

As you already know, when you're 13 or 14 years old and should start applying makeup for competitions, you don't even have an experience of your own with makeup. For help you turn to your teachers and older dancers in your club, and if you don't get any specific information - you start experimenting on your face. Maybe you even try to copy someone's look which you like, but your 'copy' doesn't really look like the 'original'... My journey was kind of like that and that's why I want to help you so applying makeup for competitions would be fun and enjoyable instead of being something annoying and exhausting.

So, let me answer to the question I've heard at least 100 times, from those who are starting or are experienced dancers, and from those who aren't dancers at all...WHY DOES MAKEUP FOR DANCING HAVE TO BE SUCH A 'HEAVY' MAKEUP?

Makeup for a dance competition is actually a stage makeup. Even though this kind of dancing is now a sport - it's still important for the looks to impress the audience and to contribute to all the drama and impact of the dance moves and energy. The light show is present on our competitions and the lights are deforming our faces. Usually it tends to make the face look 'flat', often creating shadow under the brows so the eyes become less noticeable and lightens up the complexion.

The facial expressions are completing what the dance moves are trying to say, and that is why we have to accentuate the facial features, so the expressions would be more noticeable. It is often the case the audience is even 10 - 20 meters away from us, and we want them to recognise the parts of our face. Speaking of audience, we want to attract their attention and keep it as long as possible. That's why our makeup (and our face) should be distinct but not repulsive. The best contact we accomplish with our eyes, and that is why they are usually emphasised.

All that drama - our costumes aren't something you'd wear to go out, with all that fringes, rhinestones and crazy colors but our makeup has to match our costumes.

The last reason (which maybe should've been the first) is the general reason why we apply makeup at all (for dancing and/or everyday), is to accentuate what we like and to hide what we don't like about our appearance.

Every two weeks I'm going to write an article about makeup for ballroom dancing, and prepare different looks (Ballroom, Latin, 10 dance, makeup for Juniors II) and recreate looks of famous dancers (Anna Melnikova, Kristina Moshenskaya, etc.).

Today, let's start with the most common mistakes:

Un-done brows - one of the biggest in everyday makeup, as well. Brows that are plunked in a shape that doesn't match the shape of the face, and left 'bare' while the rest of the face is under the 'full' makeup, or they are completely done but without correcting their shape (the first case is the most common).

Wrong shade of the foundation - Orange, pink or even red shades of the foundation aren't your friend! These shades don't have anything to do with the sun kissed tan, or with the price. Don't panic, I'm preparing the whole article just about the foundation and how to choose the right one ;)

Panda / racoon eyes - eyelid completely covered in black, white shadow all around it, sharp edges and no blending... This actually scares me when I see it, and it's really common among the beginers but also among the experienced dancers. We'll learn how to do the black smoky eye, without overdoing it, and what to use instead of a white eye shadow for this purpose.

Makeup matching the colour of the dress - A pink or a red eye shadow will probably make you look like you've just finished crying, blues and greens can create a 'black eye'. Match the colours of the eye shadows with the colour of your eyes instead. There could be a small flash of colour of your dress on your face but it shouldn't take over.

False lashes - Base of the lashes longer than your eyelid, to sparse or to thick lashes, to big (when eyes are opened, tips of the lashes are touching your eyebrows or are near), and the biggest 'sin' - each of the lashes applied in their own height and angle. The most common mistake is applying the lashes before applying the eyeliner, and to far from your own lashes, so your eyelid is visible between the false and natural lashes.

We've come to an end of the introduction to dancesport makeup. Think about your makeup, especially if you've recognized some of the mistakes you're doing and how to avoid them (until I reveal all of the 'secrets' to you). For any questions, feel fee to contact me via e-mail sara.makeup@yahoo.com or through my FB page (Dancesportmakeup).